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The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted all countries to adopt restraining measures to mitigate the spread of the disease. Usually, large-scale disasters tend to be accompanied by significant increases of psychological distress, depression and anxiety. Confinement measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to have similar consequences. In the present study we aim to evaluate how COVID-19 affected the overall psychological functioning of Portuguese individuals by providing a comparison of current data with status prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study sample was composed of 150 cognitively healthy participants. Results show an overall maintenance of cognitive capacities, although subjective cognitive decline complaints significantly increased during the pandemic. Regarding mental health, restraining measures culminated in an aggravation of depressive and decrease of the perceived quality of life, associated with feelings of loneliness and perceived social isolation. Finally, higher levels of pre-COVID-19 quality of life seem to play a protective role against depression and anxiety and predict less difficulties in emotion regulation, feelings of solitude and cognitive complaints. In sum, confinement due to COVID-19 implied an aggravation of the mental health of the Portuguese population, which appears to have been attenuated in those with higher pre-pandemic levels of perceived quality of life.

The recent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2) and the accompanied coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has continued ceaselessly despite the implementations of popular measures, which include social distancing and outdoor face masking as recommended by the World Health Organization. Due to the unstable nature of the virus, leading to the emergence of new variants that are claimed to be more and rapidly transmissible, there is a need for further consideration of the alternative potential pathways of the virus transmissions to provide the needed and effective control measures. This review aims to address this important issue by examining the transmission pathways of SARS-CoV-2 via indirect contacts such as fomites and aerosols, extending to water, food, and other environmental compartments. This is essentially required to shed more light regarding the speculation of the virus spread through these media as the available information regarding this is fragmented in the literature. The existing state of the information on the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water-food-environmental compartments is essential for cause-and-effect relationships of human interactions and environmental samples to safeguard the possible transmission and associated risks through these media. Furthermore, the integration of effective remedial measures previously used to tackle the viral outbreaks and pandemics, and the development of new sustainable measures targeting at monitoring and curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were emphasized. This study concluded that alternative transmission pathways via human interactions with environmental samples should not be ignored due to the evolving of more infectious and transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants.